The order book is the real-time record of every resting buy and sell order at each price level on the exchange. It is the most direct view of supply and demand available. Understanding it tells you where buyers are waiting, where sellers are waiting, and where the next area of friction will most likely be.
Order book = real-time list of all resting buy and sell orders at each price level
Red (asks) = sell orders resting ABOVE current market price — sellers waiting for price to rise to them
Green (bids) = buy orders resting BELOW current market price — buyers waiting for price to fall to them
Grouping = adjust the price interval to view orders at different granularity (5 = detailed, 50 = overview)
Available instruments: Perpetual Swap (no expiry), Futures contracts (specific expiry dates), altcoin pairs
ETH/BTC pair = price denominated in BTC, not USD — always check the denomination before trading
Lesson
Perpetual Swaps, Futures, and Reading Depth
The instruments available in a derivatives order book differ from spot markets. The Perpetual Swap is the most important — no expiry, tracks spot via funding, and is the most liquid instrument on every major crypto exchange. Futures have fixed expiry dates for defined-horizon speculation or hedging.
Perpetual Swap: no expiry date; most liquid; price anchored to spot via 8-hour funding payments; used for leveraged speculation and hedging
Futures Contracts: fixed expiry dates (quarterly, monthly); must be rolled at expiry; used to hedge or speculate on a future price at a defined point in time
Grouping: fine (5) for precision; coarse (50) for overview of major order walls and supply/demand clusters
Large resting order blocks = potential support or resistance — the order book maps supply and demand visually
ETH/BTC pair: a fill price of 0.05 means 0.05 BTC per ETH — not 0.05 USD; always verify denomination
The order book updates in real time every second as orders are placed, filled, or cancelled
Order books can be spoofed — large resting orders are sometimes placed and immediately cancelled to mislead other traders
Check Yourself
In a derivatives exchange order book, what do the red orders represent?
Sell orders (asks) resting above current market price — sellers waiting for price to rise to their level
Buy orders (bids) — red indicates high-priority buyers protecting a key demand zone at those price levels
Filled orders — red indicates trades that have already been executed at those price levels on the exchange
Answer it (with a live chart) in the interactive lesson.
Liquidity Theory · Learn · Analyze · Trade together Educational content only — trading involves substantial risk and most beginners lose money. Nothing here is financial advice.